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For the MST3K episode, see MST3K 511 - Gunslinger.

Gunslinger is a 1956 western film directed by Roger Corman and written by Charles B. Griffith and Mark Hanna.

Plot[]

After her husband Scott, the sheriff of Oracle, Texas, is killed by two assailants, his widow Rose is named temporary sheriff. That night, Rose asks Erica Page to close her saloon in accordance with town regulations. The women fight, but eventually Erica closes for the night. After Rose exits, Erica tells lackey Jake to hire a killer, which he does, finding a man named Cane Miro. As Cane enters town, Rose shoots at him, mistaking him for a man she has been searching out. She apologizes. Cane tells Rose that he is going to Oracle to see town mayor Gideon Polk.

Gunslinger

Gunslinger

Cane enters Erica's saloon, where Polk has been telling her that she has overextended herself by buying property along a proposed railroad track. Cane confronts him until Erica requests he stop. Erica reveals that Rose is the woman who she paid Cane to kill; however, if the proposed railroad track is a success, she admits that Rose may not have to die.

Rose follows Cane as he exits town. When he stops so she can catch up, they talk and eventually kiss. Jake watches and reports to Erica, who becomes irate. She demands he kill Rose immediately. Cane reminds her that they cannot change the deal they made. Cane later explains to Rose that Polk had been his commander at a battle which could have been a victory but that Polk ran, depressing his men, who were later decimated. Rose makes Cane promise not to harm Polk, but still has Polk placed in protective custody.

Cane becomes intoxicated. Erica enters his room, and Jake, who has been spying, sees the two kiss, but leaves before he sees Cane reject Erica. An embarrassed Erica orders Cane to kill Rose no matter what. When she returns to her saloon, Jake slaps her. Jake goes to Rose's office and tells her everything he knows. Back at the saloon, Jake draws a gun on Cane, who kills him. Rose does not arrest him as Erica claimed it was self-defense.

Gunslinger

Gunslinger

After receiving a letter from the Pony Express, informing her that the railroad will not be built, Erica rides into town, with the intent of Cane killing Rose. Deputy Joshua Tate is killed when he confronts them. Cane goes after Polk, killing his wife when she shields him. Cane then shoots and kills Polk. Rose enters town and Erica aims at her, but Erica is shot by Cane before she can pull the trigger. Rose and Cane exchange fire. After he is shot, Cane asks if Rose loved him, and she replies that she did. Cane is fatally wounded, and Rose rides out of Oracle, declaring she will never come back.

Cast[]

Notes[]

  • Production of the film was plagued by misfortune. John Ireland and Beverly Garland were attacked by red ants during their romantic tree-sitting scene. Allison Hayes fell off her horse and broke her arm. Later, Beverly twisted her ankle and it became so swollen that her boot had to be cut off. The weather itself was even uncooperative, raining so much that many scenes had to be rewritten to be indoors, while others were shot outdoors under a tarp, and in either case making things muddy enough to make filming difficult. Corman wound up having to extend the film's intended six day shooting schedule to seven days, which he later recalled as the only time he ever had to go over schedule.
  • The interior of the saloon was also used for Scroop's Inn in Corman's The Undead.
  • The Battle of Lookout Mountain was an actual historical event. It was a decisive victory for the North, allowing them to break a siege on Union forces in the city of Chattanooga, and use it to stage attacks further into the Deep South. Its description in this film is of questionable accuracy.

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